Earthed/Sprung introduced a teenage lad from flat Suffolk not just to proper foot out/flat out riding but loads of cool music too. Suddenly made this nerd realise that actually bikes are cool, you don't have to tow the line and like football and that maxxis tyres, TLD kit and flat pedals maketh the man..
Arguments about reach, seat tube angles and stack height seem inconsequential when you watch Sam Hill ride that tiny little iron horse faster than most of us could ever hope to go on a bike.
yeah! So good to see tracks with some proper DH gnar, instead of the buffed crap that composes much of the tracks nowadays. Buff is boring to watch. I could watch slow mo gnar all day
I don't think it ever was. I was there that day, and despite having seen Sam ride and race many times before, it was only then that I truly appreciated his ridiculous skill, and how it was really on a different level to everyone else. I'd also been there for most of the other record attempts by other riders, and there is this one section in particular where he stood out. I think Peaty was the first to gap this one bit, after a lot of checking it out etc...Hill just did it basically straight off the bat, but what really struck me was the subsequent times because the landing was pretty sketchy/rocky and the second time he landed in a different spot. For a split second I thought he'd messed up, but he just somehow held it. I asked him if he'd missed his line/shat himself, to which he just replied 'nah, I just land where I land'. Every time he did it he landed somewhere different and just dealt with it, it's like he sees thing in slow motion compared to the rest of us. Other top riders in comparison would always seem far more concerned about hitting specific lines, Sam just seems to ride...ridiculously fast.
@edhayetc: very cool and interesting little story. That probably sums up Sam's ability in a nutshell, just ride the bike fast and deal with each scenario as it happens.
@browner: I haven't been there for probably 10 years so I'm not 100% sure, but I very much doubt it seeing as Steve moved to the other side of the valley years ago and it could grow over pretty quickly at the best of times. It's on private land anyway.
his bike/body seperation is insane, his upper body moves in a straight line. probably partly because a small bike with worse suspension moves around more than a big modern bike, but its still really impressive.
It's amazing how "still" his upper body is despite mean rock gardens, means roots fields, with 26" wheels and flat pedals. He stands also very high on the bike (unlike Bruni who is very low on the bike, quite similar in the upper body stillness though).
Naha he said in an interview that he rode flats for everything, including road biking.
I remember years ago that a manager for one of the big teams said that Sam Hill basically stunted the careers of several up and coming youths because due to his influence they insisted on riding flats. The manager believed that these kids would have been much more successful on clipless pedals but that they idolised Sam Hill.
"Me bike gets muddy."
Classic.
I was there that day, and despite having seen Sam ride and race many times before, it was only then that I truly appreciated his ridiculous skill, and how it was really on a different level to everyone else. I'd also been there for most of the other record attempts by other riders, and there is this one section in particular where he stood out. I think Peaty was the first to gap this one bit, after a lot of checking it out etc...Hill just did it basically straight off the bat, but what really struck me was the subsequent times because the landing was pretty sketchy/rocky and the second time he landed in a different spot. For a split second I thought he'd messed up, but he just somehow held it. I asked him if he'd missed his line/shat himself, to which he just replied 'nah, I just land where I land'. Every time he did it he landed somewhere different and just dealt with it, it's like he sees thing in slow motion compared to the rest of us. Other top riders in comparison would always seem far more concerned about hitting specific lines, Sam just seems to ride...ridiculously fast.
Long live Sam Hill, 26“ whells and flatt pedals
Damn it's so good to see, wizard on a bike.